Cummer Museum Seeks New CEO

The current director and CEO of the Cummer Museum and Gardens abruptly announced his pending resignation less than two years after taking on the role. Adam M. Levine told a stunned audience that he would be pursuing an opportunity to curate ancient art in Toledo, Ohio.

Unfortunately, the time he spent working as CEO at the Cummer was shorter than the time the Cummer spent looking for him.

For anyone who has known anything about the arts scene in Jacksonville, the Cummer Museum is a cultural foundation. Students of all ages attend field trips, and I recall writing essays about several of the paintings on several different occasions. I was never even an art major!

In addition to the meticulously magical gardens, the museum holds some of the city's most prized and most famous artworks. Local artists - as well as nationally and internationally renowned artists - are represented in the collection.

Unfortunately, the job search is not so representative of the local Jacksonville community.

The financial leadership of Jacksonville seems to have turned against the people of Jacksonville

Instead of considering local applicants for leadership and executive jobs, people are continually imported from out of town based on aggressive resumes that show growth - by job hopping. These applicants appear impressive on paper - and they may even do good work - but they have no loyalty to the organizations that hire them and they have no loyalty to the city that supports those organizations. We provide that next step on the career ladder, and they're back off to where they came from so they can settle down.

A wealth of artistic and administrative talent reside in Jacksonville 

While leaders imagine Jacksonville becoming a global city, that won't happen if our local citizens never have a chance to exercise career growth and leadership in city institutions. It's not fair to argue that all positions, contracts, and grants should be reserved for local citizens, but it isn't fair that a majority of that funding and those senior positions do go to candidates from outside of Jacksonville. A balance must be struck by consulting with the various academic, professional, and philanthropic institutions.

Efforts must be made to mentor the next generation of artists and art leaders, and that includes on the job with promotions in the museums and galleries that they already run and operate. We do want to be a world class city, and we've got the potential, but someone has to invest in the people who define what that city ultimately is. Then and only then will we attract the highest quality of talent from around the world. Until then, we're left to hire expensive mercenaries who will flee at the first sight of difficulties or a better opportunity.